Return to Rome Pre Cruise Trip Report October 2016
Nov 23rd, 2015, 01:27 PM
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Return to Rome Pre Cruise Trip Report October 2016
A year or so ago we began to think about places we have visited previously and where we wanted to return. We sat down and compiled a list of places which included; Rome, Israel, Ephesus in Turkey and Delos Greece.
It occurred to us that perhaps it was time to consider a cruise which included as many of these stop as possible. While we normally spend a minimum of 4 day to a week at each place we visit, even a day stop on a cruise would give us an opportunity to revisit highlight places on our list.
After extensive research we found a Celebrity cruise that started in Rome and visited Naples ( a new stop for us) three nights total in 2 ports in Israel, ( it turned out that everyone we spoke to on the ship booked for those three nights) , Kushadasi Turkey for Ephesus, Mykonos for Delos, one day in Athens and a day in Malta (also a new place for us) This itinerary seemed like a home run.
We booked 10 months in advance and a second couple booked with us.
We arrived 5 nights early and spent a delightful 5 days in Rome. On our first trip we had done the major sites: Coliseum, Palatine hill and Forum, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Trevi fountain, Campo de Fiori Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel. This time we went to the easily accessible sites with our friends but while they took in the Sistine Chapel and Coliseum, we took the opportunity to visit sites we had missed previously.
It is a very long series of flights from our home; first to Vancouver then to Toronto and transatlantic to Rome. This was over 24 hours of travel. Needless to say we were wired on arrival but we could not sleep so we headed out in the evening to explore our surroundings in central Rome. We walked to Piazza Navona then Castel Sant’Angelo and up to Saint Peters Square. What an enchanting first evening.
The next morning we essentially repeated our steps from the night before but also included stops at Campio di Fiori, the boarded up Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps as well as the Pantheon.
We also went underground at the Trevi theater to see the city of water. Our friend turned out to be uneasy underground so we didn’t do any other underground sites.
The second day we walked past the forum and caught the metro and train to Ostia. We had heard that it was even better than Pompeii because it was more intact so it was a must see on this trip. This is well worth the effort to get to. We just used a guide book and the posted signs and had a DIY tour of the site. This is a big site and were very happy to reach the snack bar and museum for a refreshment stop . In the afternoon we continued our visit at the bakeries and the harbour area.
We were still a bit jet lagged and very tired so we trudged back to the train station to return to Rome. Just a side comment here commuters on the trains are very aggressive being first to the limited number of seats. My wife was literally halfway down to a seat and a woman managed to slip in under her. My wife managed to grab the next seat but I ended up standing. It’s a good thing I had pain killers and a bottle of water. The funny thing is the lady fell asleep with her head on my wife’s shoulder.
The next day we stopped in for some gift purchases as Campio di Fiori and then continued down to the Jewish Ghetto and then across the Tiber for a few hours visiting Travestere. On the way back we found Villa Farnesia and enjoyed all the treasures there.
On the last day we visited Villa Borghese. It is even more impressive that Farnesia. I think we could come back to Rome 10 more times and still find it just as fascinating as the first two times.
On the last evening just at supper time we received an e mail from Celebrity. Because of the security issues in Israel the cruise had been diverted. It turned out that our Israel cruise was now a Greek Island cruise.
Images of Rome
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57661593187885
Next Naples
It occurred to us that perhaps it was time to consider a cruise which included as many of these stop as possible. While we normally spend a minimum of 4 day to a week at each place we visit, even a day stop on a cruise would give us an opportunity to revisit highlight places on our list.
After extensive research we found a Celebrity cruise that started in Rome and visited Naples ( a new stop for us) three nights total in 2 ports in Israel, ( it turned out that everyone we spoke to on the ship booked for those three nights) , Kushadasi Turkey for Ephesus, Mykonos for Delos, one day in Athens and a day in Malta (also a new place for us) This itinerary seemed like a home run.
We booked 10 months in advance and a second couple booked with us.
We arrived 5 nights early and spent a delightful 5 days in Rome. On our first trip we had done the major sites: Coliseum, Palatine hill and Forum, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Trevi fountain, Campo de Fiori Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel. This time we went to the easily accessible sites with our friends but while they took in the Sistine Chapel and Coliseum, we took the opportunity to visit sites we had missed previously.
It is a very long series of flights from our home; first to Vancouver then to Toronto and transatlantic to Rome. This was over 24 hours of travel. Needless to say we were wired on arrival but we could not sleep so we headed out in the evening to explore our surroundings in central Rome. We walked to Piazza Navona then Castel Sant’Angelo and up to Saint Peters Square. What an enchanting first evening.
The next morning we essentially repeated our steps from the night before but also included stops at Campio di Fiori, the boarded up Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps as well as the Pantheon.
We also went underground at the Trevi theater to see the city of water. Our friend turned out to be uneasy underground so we didn’t do any other underground sites.
The second day we walked past the forum and caught the metro and train to Ostia. We had heard that it was even better than Pompeii because it was more intact so it was a must see on this trip. This is well worth the effort to get to. We just used a guide book and the posted signs and had a DIY tour of the site. This is a big site and were very happy to reach the snack bar and museum for a refreshment stop . In the afternoon we continued our visit at the bakeries and the harbour area.
We were still a bit jet lagged and very tired so we trudged back to the train station to return to Rome. Just a side comment here commuters on the trains are very aggressive being first to the limited number of seats. My wife was literally halfway down to a seat and a woman managed to slip in under her. My wife managed to grab the next seat but I ended up standing. It’s a good thing I had pain killers and a bottle of water. The funny thing is the lady fell asleep with her head on my wife’s shoulder.
The next day we stopped in for some gift purchases as Campio di Fiori and then continued down to the Jewish Ghetto and then across the Tiber for a few hours visiting Travestere. On the way back we found Villa Farnesia and enjoyed all the treasures there.
On the last day we visited Villa Borghese. It is even more impressive that Farnesia. I think we could come back to Rome 10 more times and still find it just as fascinating as the first two times.
On the last evening just at supper time we received an e mail from Celebrity. Because of the security issues in Israel the cruise had been diverted. It turned out that our Israel cruise was now a Greek Island cruise.
Images of Rome
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57661593187885
Next Naples
Nov 24th, 2015, 01:04 PM
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This must have been the Constellation. We took the next trip on it--the Transatlantic, and talked to several people who were doing back-to-back. They weren't happy about losing Israel, but in the light of the Paris attack, accepted that their security was the most important thing.
Nov 25th, 2015, 08:56 AM
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Actually it was the Silhouette. I understand it also did a BtoB after our cruise.
Since this particular post is about Rome and our 4 days there I think I will start a new thread on our first port Naples.
However I will also post it here.
Cruise report. First stop Naples
We docked early on a Sunday morning in Naples. We have already been to Pompeii Herculaneum and Sorrento so we passed on the shore excursion and set out to visit Naples central area on foot.
During my research on the forum I noticed there is a huge dichotomy of views about Naples. I saw posts describing it as “dirty, gritty, run down, crime ridden and one shouldn’t expect order or cleanliness.” Others described it as “amazing, extraordinary, magnificent and a powerhouse of culture.” This was going to be an interesting few hours!
I had researched several interesting sites but didn’t bring the info with us so we just started walking wanting to experience the city. Since it was a Sunday morning there really wasn’t much traffic nor people around. Our first stop was Castel Nuovo. I love castles and can’t walk by one without stopping in. This was a free admission day which was a bonus. Just for a moment one can imagine living in medieval times.
From the castle we walked up into the city shopping and residential areas. Now we began to see the gritty nature of the city. The buildings are 4 to 6 stories tall and the roads are very narrow. There is some rubbish on the street and it is not nearly as clean as Rome.
Evidently Saturday night is washing night because virtually every balcony and window was adorned with clean washing hanging to dry. We were beginning to recognize why people love this city because it is old and it is home for lots of people but it does have character.
We were now hopelessly lost but were heading up hill and enjoying ourselves so we kept on wandering. We set our sights on the Archaeological museum. We figured since most people were visiting Pompeii we should see all the artifacts that were found there. That was pretty special and I highly recommend this if you ever get to Naples.
As we walked back into central Naples the city began to stir. There were people gathering in city squares. There was evidence of last nights parties and for some odd reason church steps seemed to be the favourite place to leave empty beer bottles. As we got closer to the center there were lots of people out for a Sunday promenade walking their dogs and just enjoying the day.
I know this was a very limited experience of Naples but it is certainly on my list of places to return to for a more in depth visit
.
We have firmly landed in the camp of people who think Naples is “amazing, extraordinary and magnificent.”
Just a few images of Naples
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57661599615186
Since this particular post is about Rome and our 4 days there I think I will start a new thread on our first port Naples.
However I will also post it here.
Cruise report. First stop Naples
We docked early on a Sunday morning in Naples. We have already been to Pompeii Herculaneum and Sorrento so we passed on the shore excursion and set out to visit Naples central area on foot.
During my research on the forum I noticed there is a huge dichotomy of views about Naples. I saw posts describing it as “dirty, gritty, run down, crime ridden and one shouldn’t expect order or cleanliness.” Others described it as “amazing, extraordinary, magnificent and a powerhouse of culture.” This was going to be an interesting few hours!
I had researched several interesting sites but didn’t bring the info with us so we just started walking wanting to experience the city. Since it was a Sunday morning there really wasn’t much traffic nor people around. Our first stop was Castel Nuovo. I love castles and can’t walk by one without stopping in. This was a free admission day which was a bonus. Just for a moment one can imagine living in medieval times.
From the castle we walked up into the city shopping and residential areas. Now we began to see the gritty nature of the city. The buildings are 4 to 6 stories tall and the roads are very narrow. There is some rubbish on the street and it is not nearly as clean as Rome.
Evidently Saturday night is washing night because virtually every balcony and window was adorned with clean washing hanging to dry. We were beginning to recognize why people love this city because it is old and it is home for lots of people but it does have character.
We were now hopelessly lost but were heading up hill and enjoying ourselves so we kept on wandering. We set our sights on the Archaeological museum. We figured since most people were visiting Pompeii we should see all the artifacts that were found there. That was pretty special and I highly recommend this if you ever get to Naples.
As we walked back into central Naples the city began to stir. There were people gathering in city squares. There was evidence of last nights parties and for some odd reason church steps seemed to be the favourite place to leave empty beer bottles. As we got closer to the center there were lots of people out for a Sunday promenade walking their dogs and just enjoying the day.
I know this was a very limited experience of Naples but it is certainly on my list of places to return to for a more in depth visit
.
We have firmly landed in the camp of people who think Naples is “amazing, extraordinary and magnificent.”
Just a few images of Naples
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57661599615186
